Hairpin holder and opener



INVENTOR dwew fad,

V. m B mm w D N! u AR T n P A 6 u. .m 1/ ml M R j u 6 H f 2 Jfi April 24, 1951 Patented Apr. 24, 1951 $550,621 HKIRPIN'HOLDER, AND OPENER; Andi-cw Tau, ColhmliiinMm- Application. April5, 1949;. Serial N0..85,5.79

(o1: ice-r) This" invention relates- 1';o*-a=new and improved container and openerforha-irpins;

Certain types of hairp-i-nsnalledbobby pins now in-general use are formed of'resi'lient'metaland liavdthe' legs locatedadjacent each other with one leg" having its freeend bent slightly away from theother legs This wedge shaped recess-=at the-free =end of the" pin is inadequate to receive evena moderately large strand of hair andthe upper portions ofthe legs are closely adjacent each other.

The amount of opening-- of the free ends-of the legs desired by theuser'varies somewhat d'epend iiigorr the spe'cific useof 'thepinand the amount of hair to begrippedbetween the l'egs. When such pins" are used during the" dressing or hair; it is often necessary to hold a prepared st'randof hair with ohe hand "wli-ile picking up and applying the pin with the other hand. It is impractical to open the legs of the hairpin with one hand and the piniismften openedzwithithe aid of the teeth. This is awkward and unsanitaryiand mayresult in damage tothe teeth...

, It is an object of the present invention to pro- 'vide-a'- new and improved container and opener ferhairpi-ns.

It; is a further object to providea devi'ce-"of this character 'adaptedto "prov-ide means for supportihg "small groups ofpins-in substantially vertical position adjacent-means-for opening such-pins;

Itis'also-an object to providesuch a device with the opening means located centrally and positioned above the pins in the adjacent groups.

It is an additional object to provide an opening device which operates eificiently to open the pins without lateral slippage and also with stops to limit movement of the pins in the opening operation.

It is another object to provide a device of this character which may be provided with a cover and operate as a shipping container or package for hairpins as well as a holder and opener.

It is also an object to provide a device which is simple in design and construction and adapted for commercial production by means of injection molding of plastic materials or die-casting of metals.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

I have shown certain preferred embodiments of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device with its cover;

Figure. 2. is.. a vertical: section of thedevice of Figure 1";

Figure 3" is a verticallon'gitudinalsection o'f'tli'e holder and" hairpin; opener with a; pihzshown in openingjpbsitibn; and: r

Figure 4 is a plan view of' the holder and opener;

In. the drawingszthe-cover is shown at" ll;,,this

cover. being. provided with a depending; skirt: l2

which abuts the; shoulder M1 at the" uppered'ge of the-base flange l6 of the holder. IT; The h'older l1 isshown as circular in' plan vie'wand" is pro.- vid'edwith a pluralityof circularly;'arrangedicylindrical cavities" IQiadaptedito receive hairpinsg as indicatedgatrz For Figure 31 Thesecavitiesl s'are preferably. formed of"such cross-sectionaliarea as to hold ten or twelve hairpins. somewhatl'oosely spaced so that: a" single pin" may be" easily'witl'rdrawnwithout bringing additiona'f pins'witli it. The" cavities 'l-s'ar'e" also preferably of. a depth defpendentbroadlyup'on the len'gth ofthepins they are designed toihold; the" depthbei'n'g in' general approximately tWd-thi'rdsr to three-fourthspf the length'of'the pins."

As shown in Figures 2 and3, the. body ofthe holder I] is provided. with a central cylindrical cavity 23" having;- a reduced: upper portion" 24" ex= tending into the upper. cylindrical" flange portion 26'" of the holder; the cavity being terminat'ed by thetransverse portion or" stop wall 21. The up;- per cylindrical portion 26 is of such a height'as't'o provide" an" upper cavity" 29 of substantial depth, this depth being of the order of approximately one-third to one-quarter of the length of the pins for which the holder is designed.

The upper edge 3| of the holder portion 26 is pointed or pyramidal in cross section, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The outer face of portion 26 is provided with a plurality of vertically extending narrow ridges or lands 33 which are spaced apart a distance substantially greater than the width of the hairpins for which the holder is intended.

The holder with its cover may be economically manufactured and may be used as a. package for shipping and sales of the bobby pins or hairpins for which it is designed. It will efiiciently hold about eight dozen or a hundred pins divided between the cylindrical receptacles provided, each of the receptacles being approximately one-half inch in diameter. Due to its circular design, pins may be reached from any direction and, if properly loaded with pins, individual pins may be easily grasped and removed without disturbing other pins in the same receptacle. It has been proven in practice that it is much simpler and easier to remove a single pin from a small loose group than from a large mass of pins. The upper central cavity 29 is not designed to hold pins and is of such shallow depth that loose pins will not be retained therein.

The cover II is preferably formed of such size as to have a push or frictional fit with the holder so that it is held in place by friction in normal handling of the assembly. The cover may be removed and retained by the purchaser of the container and used as a cover of the container only when travelling, if it is not desired to remove and replace the cover when the pins are used.

In the use of the container and opener, a hairpin .is selected from any convenient receptacle and the legs of the pin spread apart by pressin them downwardly against the pointed ridge portion 3|. The ridge is circular and located centrally of the device so that it may be reached from any direction. .The stop wall 2'! limits central location of the portion 26 and the relatively broad base of the holder, negative any tendency to overturn the holder while opening a hairpin. It will be noted that while the leg of a hairpin inside theflange will be limited as to downward movement by the stop wall 27 the opposite leg may be slid down the outer face of the flange a substantially greater distance.

'The vertical lands or ridges 33 on the outer face of the portion 26 have an important function in that they serve to guide the downward movement of the outer leg of the hairpin and prevent the pin from swinging laterally or circumferentially of the edge 3| due to the resilience of the material forming the pin. The opening of the pin, in actual practice,- is usually a onehanded operation and is often performed without close visual attention to the pin. This guiding action of the ridges 33 affords eflicient and. uniform opening with a minimum of attention from the user.

The upper dome-shaped portion 35 of the cover Il may have a push fit with the upper portions of the lands 33 and thus assist in holding the cover frictionally in place.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is capable of variation to meet differing conditions and requirements, and I contemplate such modifications a come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A container and opener for hairpins comprising a body portion and a circular central flange projecting upwardly from the body portion, said flange having its upper portion slopin to a sharp edge, and a smooth, rigid, horizontal stop wall inside the circular central flange at a level substantially above the level of the body portion, and below the upper edge a distance equal to a substantial portion of the length of a hair pin with which the container and opener is adapted to be used, whereby a leg of a hairpin inside the flange will be stopped while the opposite leg may be slid down the outer face of the flange a substantially greater distance.

2. A container and opener for hairpins comprising a body portion and a circular central flange projecting upwardly from the body portion, said flange. having its upper edge of substantially pyramidal cross section, and a smooth, rigid, horizontal stop wall inside the circular central flange at a level substantially above the level of the body portion, whereby a leg of a hairpin inside the flange will be stopped while the opposite leg may be slid down the outer face of the flange a substantially greater distance, and spaced vertical ridges on the outer face of the flange to guide the downward movement of said opposite leg.

ANDREW TAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

